The Cincinnati Bengals had a rather disappointing 2023 campaign largely due to injuries. The worst injury of all was Joe Burrow, who bowed out with a season-ending wrist injury in Week 11.
Even with Burrow sidelined for much of the year, the Bengals still managed to win nine games and nearly make the playoffs in the rugged AFC North.
That should tell you just how dangerous this team still is.
Remember: Cincinnati is three seasons removed from a Super Bowl appearance, so the Bengals have proven they can make deep runs before.
But can they do it in again in 2024?
They must answer these three massive questions first.
Have the Bengals done enough to fix their defense?
The Bengals ranked 31st in the NFL in defense last season, which marked a significant step back from 2022 when they finished a much more respectable 16th.
Cincinnati has never been known for its defense in the Burrow era, but ranking second to last in the league in that category just won’t cut it.
This offseason, the Bengals signed defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins and also revamped the safety position, landing both Geno Stone and Vonn Bell in free agency (it will be Bell’s second stint in Cincy). They also picked up a couple of defensive tackles in the NFL Draft, selecting Michigan’s Kris Jenkins Jr. and Texas A&M’s McKinnley Jackson in the second and third rounds.
But is it enough?
Outside of Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati lacks elite talent on the defensive side, and the unit could be an issue once again in 2024.
What will the running game look like without Joe Mixon?
Joe Mixon certainly wasn’t the most efficient running back in the NFL, as he owns a career average of 4.1 yards per carry and has only logged more than that once in six seasons (4.9 yards per attempt back in 2018).
However, one thing about Mixon is that he was a bell cow who rattled off four 1,000-yard campaigns in Cincinnati and also represented a decent receiver out of the backfield.
The Bengals traded Mixon to the Houston Texans this offseason and replaced him with Zack Moss, who has never been a featured back for a full season. Moss had the best year of his career with the Indianapolis Colts in 2023, posting 794 yards and five touchdowns while recording 4.3 yards per tote.
Those numbers aren’t exactly inspiring.
Cincinnati may have an ace in the hole in second-year halfback Chase Brown, who didn’t get much of an opportunity during his rookie campaign but should see an expanded role in 2024.
The Bengals need to find a solution in their backfield to fully open up the aerial attack.
Will Joe Burrow be able to stay healthy?
Burrow has been in the league for four years and has never played a full campaign.
A devastating knee injury limited him to just 10 games during his debut season in 2020, and after missing one game apiece in 2021 and 2022, he once again appeared in just 10 contests this past year.
Not only did Burrow hurt his wrist in 2023, but he began the season with a calf issue that persisted for the first several weeks and severely limited him.
To make matters worse, Burrow doesn’t seem entirely confident that he is healed from the wrist surgery yet, as he has been giving the media rather vague answers when it comes to his condition.
When healthy, Burrow may very well be the NFL’s second-best quarterback behind Patrick Mahomes, but that’s just the thing: he has been injured an awful lot.
If Burrow is able to stay on the field in 2024, the Bengals’ passing game should once again be dynamite with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Burrow’s health is obviously the key to whether or not Cincinnati will vault itself back into Super Bowl contention this coming season.
